Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that in the near future, solar panels would be installed in all railway buildings across the nation.

The Minister made this announcement on Sunday when he laid the foundation stone of one Megawatt solar power plant at the Amritsar Railway Station.

The power plant, which would be set up at a cost of Rs 8 crores, will produce 14 lakh unit of power per year.

Speaking on this occasion, Prabhu said that this plant will save Rs 1.40 crore for the railways.

He said that the union government is focusing to produce solar energy from waste materials that would reduce the expenditure of the Railways on electricity, thus providing maximum facilities to the passengers during travel.

The minister also said that the Railways has already successfully tested train to run at the speed of 180 kilometers per hour and work would now initiate to start high speed train between Amritsar and New Delhi.

He regretted the delay in laying railway tracks on Amritsar-Patti route via Ferozpur but hoped that the work on this project will begin soon with the help of the state government.